


Recover

by rakketyrivertam



Series: Found [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Angst, Coma, Family, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Injury Recovery, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Surgery, non-graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21754702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rakketyrivertam/pseuds/rakketyrivertam
Summary: The Dinobots wake up... except for Grimlock.
Relationships: Ratchet/Wheeljack
Series: Found [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567945
Comments: 16
Kudos: 67





	Recover

**Author's Note:**

> Things to Know:  
1\. Ri is the diminutive of Carrier and the Cybertronian equivalent of Mom.  
2\. Sa is the diminutive of Sire and the Cybertronian equivalent of Dad.  
3\. Wheeljack carried the first three, Ratchet carried the last two, but Snarl and Swoop still call Wheeljack Ri and Ratchet Sa because their older siblings do.  
4\. In humans, a coma happens when the part of the brain that wakes you up is damaged. I used personal experience to draw a parallel in Cybertronian biology. (My fUcking laptop - I dropped it off my bed Once and had to rePC it.)

Swoop onlined slowly, curling in against the cold.

"Hey, bitlet. You awake?"

Swoop shivered at the voice. It was not-real - a recording, Snarl said, to make them trust like they trusted Ri and Sa. But Ri and Sa had sold them, and now pain always came after, no matter what they did, so Swoop ignored the voice.

A blanket draped over him, thick and insulated, it chased away the cold almost immediately.

Humming softly, a not-real body to match the not-real voice picked him up and cradled him close, rocking slightly just like Ri. 

"It's alright. You're safe now. We found you. You wake up when you're good and ready. I'll be here and so will Sa."

Swoop hiccuped as he sobbed, fluttering his tiny wings as best he could. "Be good! Be good! Please no more hurting!"

"No more hurting," the not-real voice promised. A not-real finger brushed away Swoop's tears. "No more hurting ever again."

* * *

Snarl woke all at once but kept his ventilations even and optics offline, waiting for his chance to strike.

"Hey, kiddo, you've been sleeping a long ti- ack!"

Snarl twisted and bit as he was raised in the air, clamping down hard on the finger nearest to his face.

"Hey!" The person holding him turned him over on his back so he could see - see that they looked like Ri. It had to be a trick. "What did we talk about - about the biting?"

Snarl peeled back his lips from his teeth and lived up to his name, one continuous snarl for an impressively long time, even as the trick kept talking.

"It's okay," it said. "You're safe now. I found you and Sa rescued you."

Not safe, not safe. It was all pretend and then there would be tables and knives and Swoop would cry - 

Swoop! Where was Swoop?

Snarl lashed his spiked tail against his captor's wrist. "Swoop," he demanded.

"Uh-uh, no way I'm gonna let you jump on your brother right now. Both of you are still recovering."

"Swoop!" Snarl howled. "Swoop! Swoop! Swoop!" A series of weak chirps came from somewhere nearby, and he thrashed, trying to get to them.

"Alright, alright!" Not-Ri sighed and started walking. "If you hurt him, I'll separate you. No touching, okay? Only looking." It set Snarl down on the edge of a bed. Swoop was in the middle, wrapped in a blanket.

Snarl growled at Not-Ri one last time and toddled over to his twin. He settled down carefully, still ready to spring at any time, and curled around him. Shockwave would have to rip him away first. He glared at the Not-Ri and very deliberately nuzzled Swoop's long beak.

The drones had seen it hundreds of times, but this Not-Ri raised his eyebrows and then smiled. "Alright. I'll let you two catch up."

* * *

Sludge onlined and immediately knew Ri was in the room - the real Ri. He chirped once and looked up for the familiar white plating.

Ri came quickly. "Hey, kiddo."

Sludge shakily got to his feet and craned his long neck around. Snarl and Swoop rested on one berth, Slag on another, and Grimlock on yet another. He turned back to Ri and smiled. "Found us."

Ri smiled back, tears in his eyes. "We did, kiddo. We did. I don't think your little brothers believe me though."

Sludge clicked with worry. "Bad guy had pretending things. Me always fooled, but not this time."

"Not ever again," Ri promised. "No more bad guys, no more pretending things, and no more hurting. Not for you five."

Sludge leaned up and bonked his head against the new scars on Ri's face. "Not you neither."

Ri smiled sadly. "Soon, I hope. But for now, I have to protect you guys. There's still Decepticons out there, you know."

Sludge chirred his disapproval. "No more bad guys, no more hurting."

Ri pressed a kiss to his head. "I'll think about it. Do you want to be with your brothers?"

Sludge nodded, then paused. "Sa?"

"Sa's gone."

Sludge froze, and then burst into tears, keening.

Across the room, Snarl started growling again.

"Not like that - oh, Primus, not like that!" Ri picked Sludge up and cradled him close. "Sa's with Optimus Prime. He'll be back soon. In fact, I bet he'll be back before Grimlock and Slag are both woken up. If he's not, I'll call him and tell him to come back right away. Okay?"

Sludge nodded, still sniffling.

"Okay." Ri gently wiped Sludge's face clean and cradled him close. "Ready to go see your brothers?" 

Once again, Sludge nodded. "Stay?"

"Course I will, kiddo. Don't know if Snarl will let me stay too close, but I'll be where you can see me. Promise."

* * *

Slag rolled off the berth and fell on the floor. He froze as alarms went on and on and on. He shook and trembled, but he refused to cry no matter how much he wanted to - they paid more attention when he cried.

"Aw, scrap," someone said as they turned off the alarms. "Slag? Bitlet? You alright?"

There was a warm pulse in his spark as the someone crouched down and peered around the berth, but Slag didn't move, didn't cry, just stood there and shook.

The someone - who looked an awful lot like Ri - cursed and disappeared. He didn't stay away for very long, returning with a blanket and swaddling Slag up before lifting him and holding him close to his chest. "Think this is called shock if I remember right. Don't worry, I'm here, and nothing can hurt you. You take your time."

Ri wrapped his field around Slag, buffetting him on all sides with soothing comfort.

Slag whimpered and pressed into that broad chest, reaching out through the carrier bond.

"I've got you," Ri promised. "I'm here for real and I'm not letting anyone take you or your brothers away again. Do you want to see them? We're just waiting on Grim now, everyone else is awake, and Sa will be back soon."

Slag shook his head, horns thunking against armor.

"Okay, then. We'll just sit here a bit, then, just you and me. Everything will be okay."

* * *

Ratchet returned to find Wheeljack asleep, Slag in his lap, and the three youngest curled together in a pile.

Swoop and Snarl woke up when he got close, zeroing in on him with startling intensity.

He stared back.

Swoop gave an inquisitive chirp and pushed along their carrier bond.

Ratchet smiled and pushed back.

"Sa!"

Snarl huffed, but stayed calm when Ratchet leaned down to scoop his youngest into his arms.

"Good morning, bitlet," he said, letting Swoop climb up to perch on his shoulders. "I missed you."

Swoop clicked and chirped and pressed his head to Ratchet's helm. "Missed you!"

Ratchet chuckled softly and leaned down to press a kiss to each of his children's heads, pausing a moment to take in Grimlock's vitals. "Wake up, little one," he murmured. "We're all right here waiting for you."

Grimlock didn't move.

Swoop curled up on Ratchet's plating, clearly asleep again.

Ratchet sighed and sank into a seat nearby his eldest's berth. He perched his chin on his hands, and he waited.

* * *

He waited and waited, and Grimlock still did not wake up.

* * *

Swoop flew lazy laps around the room as his brothers cheered, and Grimlock still did not wake up.

* * *

Miko came in and hit it off immediately and loudly with Snarl, and Grimlock still did not wake up.

* * *

Ratchet did scan after scan after scan and Grimlock still did not wake up.

* * *

Wheeljack found his mate with his head in his hands, elbows perched on their eldest's berth.

"I have to open up his cranium," Ratchet said. "I can't figure out what's wrong, so I have to - I have to open him up and look inside and maybe even take him apart."

Wheeljack put a hand on Ratchet's arm. "I'll get the others to take the kids out. They could use some fresh air."

Ratchet heaved a deep breath and stood, wiping his face. "You should go with them."

Wheeljack shook his head. "You need an assistant. It wasn't that long ago - by our people's standards - that I was certified for that kind of work. I'll stay with you."

He shooed the children out the next day, human and Cybertronian alike, putting their care in Arcee's capable hands and suggesting they might learn something about Earth culture. Then he planted himself in Ratchet's periphery and handed him tools as he asked for them.

Just like old times.

Hours later, it was over. "Motherboard failure," Ratchet reported. "The power component broke. I need to manufacture a new one and solder it in."

"I'll do it," Wheeljack said. He grabbed Ratchet by the arm and dragged him over to the cot in the corner. "I made the first one, after all. You rest."

* * *

Grimlock woke up fighting, spitting fire and gnashing teeth, howling in pain and rage.

Wheeljack pulsed soothing comfort through the bond, gently, ever so gently.

And, slowly, Grimlock stilled, bristling from helm to tail tip, but still and quiet.

Ratchet gently extracted his teeth from his arm and set him back down on the berth. "It's okay. You're on a planet called Earth. We're here, for real, and your brothers are only a couple thousand mechanometers away."

Grimlock chirred in distress and hunkered down close to Ratchet's thigh. "Why hurting?"

Ratchet stroked a finger over Grimlock's spine. "You got hurt. You went to sleep and wouldn't wake up. I had to do surgery. It's going to hurt for another day or so, and because of where the hurt is, I can't turn off your pain receptors or you might go back to sleep again forever."

"And we just got you back," Wheeljack said, sitting close to the rest of his family. "I think it's safe to say you're not leaving our sight until you're at least four million vorn," he teased.

Grimlock whined and pressed his head against Ratchet's side.

Ratchet chuckled. "Are you ready to see your brothers or do you want to wait a little bit?"

Grimlock didn't speak, just whined again.

"Okay," Wheeljack said. He laid out on the berth and curled around his creation, gesturing for Ratchet to do the same on the other side. "We're going to wait a little bit."


End file.
